The curricula for professionals in the dental sector are mainly focused on developing and strengthening your skills not only through theoretical knowledge, but it is also extremely important to perform academic practices, both pre-clinical and clinical so that you can perfect and apply what you have been studying in books, both in study models in the early years of career, as well as with patients in more advanced years. Also, to take them successfully, you will need to have the necessary instruments, materials and equipment .
If you are thinking of studying the degree of Dentistry or you are already a student, no matter what year and you are asking yourself what materials you will need throughout each course or even next year, we have created this article, thinking of resolving these doubts exclusively for you.
1st Year. Basic resources to start with.
First of all, it is essential that you take care of yourself, the dental professional is generally exposed to fluids and materials so biosafety is of vital importance, for which initially you will need:
In some institutions, from the first year, you will attend the clinic as an observer, and you will be asked to wear uniforms and clogs. These are designed for sanitary use in the clinic, as they repel bacteria are comfortable and easy to wash and even a little waterproof. For footwear, there is also a variety of options, there are various colors and open or closed designs, the important thing is that they are non-slip and breathable.
Finally, due to the wide variety of disposable material on the market, you will find different compositions, materials and sizes. This is useful to know, as there is a percentage of students who are allergic to latex gloves, for example, and opt for vinyl or nitrile gloves. If you want to see all the options we have for you, you can access the student offers category where we classify everything you will need to protect yourself during your internship in a single section.
2nd year. Internships in study models.
When you start the 2nd year, you already start learning about dental morphology and occlusion, and surely you will start making dental impressions to models designed for it (take advantage that they do not talk, do not complain, do not bite, do not salivate). Also, it is possible that you start in periodontal treatments, performing dental cleanings and that you practice the different radiological techniques that exist. In addition, you will begin to have contact with the different types of cements, to know their properties, how to mix them and how to set them. For all this, you will need:
- Exploration Kit: Mirror, mirror handle, tweezers and scanning probe.
- Dental models and typodontos.:Mouth-like structures, perfect for university internships.
- Dental impression materials
- Articulator (probably hinged).
- Model base formers
- Dental radiology
- Glass tile.
- Dappen glass.
- Wax.
- Cements.
- Glass ionomer.
Dental Instruments that cannot be missing in the Dental Clinic
3rd year. The real internships begin.
We can officially say that you enter the wonderful world of dentistry from the 3rd year of the career, in which you begin to have much more contact with all the instruments and materials and also leaving aside the models to start your practices directly in patients.
The 3rd year is the perfect year to make the investment in quality instruments, especially the rotary that is essential to be durable, ergonomic, and easy to use. The high and low speed rotary instruments are essential in this course, as you will start using them frequently. If it is the first time, that you buy rotary instruments and you do not know what factors to take into account, visit our article Video: Everything you need to know about rotary kits, explained where you will find everything you need to know before choosing and several tips before buying them.
Here is a list of materials to help you organize your third year of school:
- Dental Rotary Instrument Kits.
- Oils for lubricating rotary instruments.
- Diagnostic kits.
- Burs of different shapes and sizes (both for turbine and micro-engine).
- Dental burs holders for storage and sterilisation.
- Light-curing resins.
- Matrix holders.
- A very popular item among all students is the insulation kit, which contains tweezers, a loop and a hole punch.
- Finishing and polishing discs or brushes.
- Ball Burnisher, Dental material modellers, Hollemback Modelling Spatula
- Forceps:
- 8 Upper: 1 straight of incisors and canines; 1 of upper premolars; 1 of upper right molars, 1 of upper left molars, 1 of upper wisdom teeth; 1 bayonet of upper roots.
- 5 Lower: 1 of lower incisors and roots, 1 of canines and premolars, 1 of lateral cow horn, 1 lateral access parrot beak and 1 frontal access parrot beak.
- Set of luxators (straight, wide and straight bladed), fine, medium and coarse.
- Set of 2 Winter Picks (right and left) with long and thin active part. You can also find the straight handles with the plastic handle, which are becoming more and more popular lately due to their comfort, lighter weight and also, with the sweat of the hand or even with the glove, they slip less than those with the metal handle
- Trays of different sizes for printing on children and Dental mouth opener
- Millimetric ruler, Gutta-percha, Paper Points, Condensors.
- Lighter.
- Millimeter probe. Mainly you will use 2, the probe CP 12 (3-6-9-12mm) and the probe CP 11 (3-6-8-11 mm).
- Curettes .
- Glasses for light curing.
We cannot fail to mention burs. Throughout your career you will find different sizes, shapes and materials such as cylindrical, round, carbide and tungsten, diamond burs, among others. All designed specifically for turbine or for use at low speed. You can see in our section burs, both the burs we have available and the burs to store and sterilize them in order. Finally, you can access files, gutta-percha and paper points in endodontic instruments.
4th and 5th Year. Perfecting your professional practices.
In the 4th year, you will be perfecting procedures and techniques that you have already implemented in previous years, the treatments can have greater complexity, as is the case of endodontics in multiradicular teeth and depending on your school, up to surgeries of palatal torus or surgeries of greater importance for which you will need even more specific instruments and materials.
The last year is usually exclusive for internships in some institutions or community service. Even so, the list of dental instruments that you will use will depend more on the course you are taking and not so much on the number of years you are taking. Generally, at the end of the course, together with the professional practices of the last course, you will also carry out a research work or the development of a clinical case.
At this point, you will stop visiting the student section and start looking for specific instruments. You can have a look at the category instruments for surgery and periodontics or to our section of restoration and obturation.
Check out our selection of the most popular dental instruments
Additional considerations.
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Study models:
In the market, there are a great variety of study models that facilitate learning and understanding of the knowledge imparted, among them you can find artificial teeth, scale models of some molars in particular, models for mixed dentition studies, models for taking impressions for edentulous, models with certain pathologies and even phantoms, which are perfect for executing your practices under simulation strategies that fit more to the daily reality of caring for a patient. Learn more about the different typodonts we carry on our website and use them. -
Study plan in each university:
Depending on the subject you are taking, in each of them you will need one or other instruments or materials. You must know the curriculum of the university where you study and at the beginning of each academic year, each department or each professor in particular will give you instructions and recommendations on what instruments and materials you will use throughout your career Congresses, seminars, courses and events:
Attend courses, events, congresses, seminars and workshops in the dental sector, because going to them will keep you informed about successful clinical cases, as well as providing you with relevant information that will serve to instruct you and make better decisions when buying materials and instruments for your future clinic.Autoclave and curing light:
At the beginning, it is probable that the institution will offer you services of sterilization of instruments or loan of lamps to photopolymerize, in spite of it, keep in mind that later you will need to have your own autoclave to sterilize your instruments and one of the following Curing lampsRotary instruments:
Invest in quality rotary instruments. Buying a turbine or a micro motor to get out of the hurry or save money, thinking that you will use it little is a decision to evaluate, because, if you invest in quality rotating instruments, you will execute treatments quickly and avoid problems in the course of your practice. Also, you must provide the appropriate maintenance to keep them in optimal conditions, because misuse or lack of maintenance of them, would mean a shorter lifespan. If you want to learn about how to maintain your rotary instruments, visit the article advice for maintaining your rotary instrumentClinic furniture:
Visualize the dental practice of your dreams, the color of the chair and stool, the new rotating instruments you will have for when you have become a professional. To help you in this task, we leave you the link for clinic furniture to delight yourself with the variety on our website.
If you are in doubt about which rotary instruments to buy, what material to use, or you have questions before choosing the instruments for your future practices, do not hesitate to visit our page with offers for students or write us an email hello@dentaltix.com and we will be able to make you a custom invoice.
Make the most of your dental practices and, above all, stay up-to-date, as manufacturers of instruments, equipment and materials used by dentists are constantly evolving. Follow us on our social networks so you don't miss any news! See you next time.
